BOSSES at a respite hospice has revealed the horrific emotional damage inflicted on families where one of the members is affected by the HIV or AIDS virus.

In a statement released to mark World AIDS day tomorrow (Friday), Philip Kearton-Smith, manager of Tyddyn Bach Trust in Penmaenmawr, revealed that 70% of those who stayed at the hospice last year were families and children, and that figure grows every year.

“We’ve had grandparents come to stay who haven’t told their families that they have been diagnosed with HIV for fear of being ostracised by their loved ones,” said Mr Kearton-Smith.

“And young parents who have contracted the disease and are trying their best to keep their diagnosis secret for fear of reprisals on their children.

“Often the children themselves are unaware of their parent’s illness, which places a huge emotional burden on the parents, which in turn affects the children. It’s a vicious circle.”

While the number of HIV diagnoses in the UK rises every year, awareness of how the disease is transmitted drops.

Mr Kearton-Smith thinks people are not as wary of AIDS as they should be.

“People often have the misconception that HIV/AIDS can’t possibly affect them,” he said. “It’s still seen as a gay disease, which is not the case.”

While AIDS is no longer seen as the inevitable killer it used to be, with sufferers able to live almost indefinitely on the correct medication, the physical side of the disease is not the full story.

“Emotionally and holistically, HIV is a devastating disease,” said Mr Kearton-Smith.

“Doctors can prescribe drugs that deal with the physical condition, but emotionally people are very isolated and often can’t talk to family and friends about it. They often feel that their lives are spinning out of control and have no one to turn to.

“It may not kill you but it gives a lot of other difficulties – while it may not be a death sentence anymore, it is certainly a life sentence.”

The number of people living with HIV in the UK is now around 58,300 of which an estimated 19,700 are unaware of their infection.Every week 100 people in the UK are diagnosed as having the virus.